March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak

The March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak was a deadly tornado outbreak that affected portions of the Southern United States from March 19–20, 1875. At least 19 tornadoes were recorded, including seven that were destructive enough to be rated F4 by Thomas P. Grazulis. The worst damage and most of the deaths occurred in Georgia. Most of the damage appears to have been the result of two tornado families that moved along parallel paths 12 to 15 mi (19 to 24 km) apart through parts of Georgia and South Carolina. These families each consisted of numerous long-tracked, intense tornadoes. The deadliest tornado of the outbreak was an estimated F4 that killed 28–42 people in and near Sparta, Georgia, and Edgefield, South Carolina, on March 20. A separate F4 that followed a similar trajectory may have killed as many as 30. In all, this outbreak killed at least 96 people, injured at least 377, and caused at least $650,000 in losses.[1][nb 1][nb 2][nb 3]

March 1875 Southeast tornado outbreak
TypeTornado outbreak
DurationMarch 19–20, 1875
Tornadoes
confirmed		≥ 19
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Duration of
tornado outbreak2		1 day and 23 hours
Fatalities≥ 96 fatalities, ≥ 377 injuries
Damage≥ $650,000 (1875 USD)
≥ $17.3 million (2023 USD)
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale
2Time from first tornado to last tornado

Confirmed tornadoes

The ratings for these tornadoes were done by tornado expert Thomas P. Grazulis and are not official ratings.

Confirmed tornadoes by Fujita rating
FU F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 Total
4 0 0 3 5 7 0 ≥ 19
  • Note: Some of the events listed as individual tornadoes were probably tornado families.[1]

March 19 event
Confirmed tornadoes – Friday, March 19, 1875[nb 4][nb 5]
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F3 Lone Grove–Ray's Point Winn LA 02:00–? 15 mi (24 km) 300 yd (270 m) 3 deaths – A tornado splintered several thousand trees and destroyed six homes in sparsely populated areas. All deaths were in one family. 10 people were injured.[12]

March 20 event
Confirmed tornadoes – Saturday, March 20, 1875[nb 4][nb 5]
F# Location County / Parish State Time (UTC) Path length Max. width Summary
F4 SW of Hamilton to E of Shiloh Harris, Talbot GA 15:20–? 25 mi (40 km) 800 yd (730 m) 11+ deaths – This was the first member in the northernmost of two major tornado families. Touching down in southwest Harris County, the "massive" tornado devastated rural plantations and forests in its path. It completely leveled several plantations and farms, with at least five deaths on one of them. Up to 15 deaths may have occurred in Harris County alone, but were unconfirmed. Winds from the parent supercell transferred a hat aloft for 30 mi (48 km) and a book for 40 mi (64 km). 40 people were injured.[12]
F3 E of Thomastown to S of Forsyth Upson, Lamar, Monroe GA 16:00–? 30 mi (48 km) 200 yd (180 m) This tornado formed 20 mi (32 km) from the dissipation of the previous event, but was in the same tornado family. People first sighted a funnel cloud developing over Thomastown, but it did not touch down until east of town. Once on the ground, the tornado "changed shape continuously." 15 people were injured.[12]
FU S of Statesville to S of Mocksville Iredell, Davie NC 16:00–? 15 mi (24 km) Un­known This may have been a tornado, a downburst or a combination of the two.[12]
F4 N of Columbus to N of Talbotton Muscogee, Harris, Talbot GA 16:30–? 35 mi (56 km) 600 yd (550 m) 9 deaths – This was the first tornado in the southernmost of the two tornado families. Described as a "large and intense" tornado, it destroyed the village of "Mt. Airy" in the southeast corner of Harris County, killing six people in one home. Winds propelled a board from the home 18 in (46 cm) into the stump of a broken pine tree. The tornado destroyed more homes and an academy in or near Baughville in Talbot County, killing three people. 50 people were injured.[12]
F3 N of Gray Jones, Putnam GA 16:50–? 10 mi (16 km) 200 yd (180 m) 1 death – This tornado struck only three farms, but demolished all of them. 10 people were injured.[12]
F4 NW of Sparta, GA to S of Edgefield, SC Hancock (GA), Warren (GA), McDuffie (GA), Columbia (GA), Edgefield (SC) GA, SC 17:40–? 75 mi (121 km) 1,000 yd (910 m) 28+ deaths – See section on this tornado
F4 S of Gray to E of Milledgeville Jones, Baldwin GA 17:50–? Un­known 600 yd (550 m) 13+ deaths – This tornado produced a "devastating" swath of damage near Milledgeville, with four deaths in Jones County and nine or more in Baldwin County. Residents of Milledgeville mistook the tornado for a column of smoke from a fire. When surveyors of the U.S. Army Signal Corps arrived three weeks later, a child was still unaccounted for and "presumed dead." 30 people were injured.[13]
F4 ESE of Sparta to S of Gibson Hancock, Washington, Glascock, Jefferson GA 18:30–? 30 mi (48 km) 400 yd (370 m) 8+ deaths – This tornado caused eight deaths in Glascock County, but according to newspapers, the actual toll may have been 30. Some deaths in Hancock County attributed to the Sparta–Edgefield tornado may actually have been from this tornado. 40 people were injured.[13]
F4 W of Keysville, GA to Williston, SC Jefferson (GA), Burkek (GA), Richmond (GA), Aiken (SC), Barnwell (SC) GA, SC 19:00–? 50 mi (80 km) 400 yd (370 m) 6+ deaths – This tornado was likely a series of tornadoes and downbursts. It narrowly missed Augusta, passing 10 mi (16 km) southeast of that city before crossing the Savannah River into South Carolina. The tornado critically damaged or razed about 40 homes in Richmond County alone. The tornado left so much debris on farms that they were abandoned. As many as eight people may have died. 30 people were injured.[14]
F4 Opelika, AL to Whitesville, GA Lee (AL), Chambers (AL), Harris (GA) AL, GA 19:30–? 20 mi (32 km) 300 yd (270 m) 7 deaths – This may have been a multiple-vortex tornado that killed seven people in a single family. 20 people were injured. This was the last violent tornado to impact Lee County until March 3, 2019.[13][15]
F3 SW of Columbia Lexington SC 19:55–? 5 mi (8.0 km) 300 yd (270 m) 2 deaths – This tornado wrecked five or more farms in its path. A dozen people were injured.[14]
F3 N of Sumter, SC to Tabor City, NC Sumter (SC), Lee (SC), Florence (SC), Marion (SC), Horry (SC), Columbus (NC) SC, NC 20:30–? 80 mi (130 km) 400 yd (370 m) 5 deaths – This tornado family produced a damage swath that varied from 20 yd (18 m) to almost 1 mi (1.6 km) wide, with several entire plantations wrecked. The tornado downed or split "tens of thousands" of trees and destroyed buildings on more than 40 farms. 30 people were injured.[14]
FU W of Raleigh Chatham, Wake NC 22:00–? Un­known Un­known Another tornado or downburst dissipated about 10 mi (16 km) west of Raleigh.[14]
F2 S of Norway to S of Orangeburg Orangeburg SC 22:00–? 25 mi (40 km) 200 yd (180 m) 3 deaths – This smoky-looking tornado leveled numerous little cabins. 20 people were injured.[14]
FU Indiantown Williamsburg SC 23:30–? Un­known Un­known Details were unknown.[14]
F2 Dogwood Neck Horry SC 00:00–? Un­known Un­known This tornado swept a frame home clean to its foundation.[14]
FU NW of Conway Horry SC 00:00–? 15 mi (24 km) Un­known This tornado was not surveyed.[14]
F2 SW of Sylvania Bulloch GA 01:00–? Un­known 200 yd (180 m) A tornado hit eight cabins, leveling them.[14]

Sparta, Georgia/Edgefield, South Carolina
Sparta, Georgia/Edgefield, South Carolina
F4 tornado
Max. rating1F4 tornado
Fatalities28+ fatalities, 70 injuries
1Most severe tornado damage; see Fujita scale

A large F4 tornado tore a damage path 75 miles (121 km) long ranging from 300 yards (270 m) to over 1 mile (1.6 km) wide across portions of Georgia and South Carolina. The tornado caused its first damage northwest of Sparta, Georgia, in Hancock County, after which it destroyed dozens of farms. Four people were killed in Hancock county, three of them on one farm. A door hinge from the farmhouse was found embedded 3 inches (7.6 cm) deep in a tree more than 1⁄4 mi (0.40 km) away. At least six people died in Warren County, including one at a church west of Warrentown. The pastor attributed the survival of the majority in the church to the pews, which stopped some of the falling timbers. The tornado then moved through Camak, where 39 of the town's 40 homes were damaged or destroyed. At least seven people, possibly as many as nine, were killed in McDuffie County, most of them in small cabins. The death toll in Columbia County may have been as high as 20, though only eight deaths were confirmed. At least four people died in Appling, and as many as eight may have died on a plantation. The tornado then crossed the state line into Edgefield County, South Carolina where damage was less severe. Here, six farms and plantations were destroyed with three fatalities. The tornado finally dissipated south of Edgefield. The death toll from this tornado is listed at 28, but due to uncertainties, it may have been as high as 42.[13]

See also

Notes
  1. An outbreak is generally defined as a group of at least six tornadoes (the number sometimes varies slightly according to local climatology) with no more than a six-hour gap between individual tornadoes. An outbreak sequence, prior to (after) the start of modern records in 1950, is defined as a period of no more than two (one) consecutive days without at least one significant (F2 or stronger) tornado.[2]
  2. The Fujita scale was devised under the aegis of scientist T. Theodore Fujita in the early 1970s. Prior to the advent of the scale in 1971, tornadoes in the United States were officially unrated.[3][4] While the Fujita scale has been superseded by the Enhanced Fujita scale in the U.S. since February 1, 2007,[5] Canada used the old scale until April 1, 2013;[6] nations elsewhere, like the United Kingdom, apply other classifications such as the TORRO scale.[7]
  3. Historically, the number of tornadoes globally and in the United States was and is likely underrepresented: research by Grazulis on annual tornado activity suggests that, as of 2001, only 53% of yearly U.S. tornadoes were officially recorded. Documentation of tornadoes outside the United States was historically less exhaustive, owing to the lack of monitors in many nations and, in some cases, to internal political controls on public information.[8] Most countries only recorded tornadoes that produced severe damage or loss of life.[9] Significant low biases in U.S. tornado counts likely occurred through the early 1990s, when advanced NEXRAD was first installed and the National Weather Service began comprehensively verifying tornado occurrences.[10]
  4. All dates are based on the local time zone where the tornado touched down; however, all times are in Coordinated Universal Time and dates are split at midnight CST/CDT for consistency.
  5. Prior to 1994, only the average widths of tornado paths were officially listed.[11]

References
  1. Grazulis 1993, pp. 581–3.
  2. Schneider, Russell S.; Brooks, Harold E.; Schaefer, Joseph T. (2004). Tornado Outbreak Day Sequences: Historic Events and Climatology (1875–2003) (PDF). 22nd Conf. Severe Local Storms. Hyannis, Massachusetts: American Meteorological Society. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  3. Grazulis 1993, p. 141.
  4. Grazulis 2001a, p. 131.
  5. Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "Enhanced F Scale for Tornado Damage". The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC). Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  6. "Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF-Scale)". Environment and Climate Change Canada. June 6, 2013. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  7. "The International Tornado Intensity Scale". Tornado and Storm Research Organisation. 2016. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  8. Grazulis 2001a, pp. 251–4.
  9. Edwards, Roger (March 5, 2015). "The Online Tornado FAQ (by Roger Edwards, SPC)". Storm Prediction Center: Frequently Asked Questions about Tornadoes. Storm Prediction Center. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
  10. Cook & Schaefer 2008, p. 3135.
  11. Brooks 2004, p. 310.
  12. Grazulis 1993, p. 581.
  13. Grazulis 1993, p. 582.
  14. Grazulis 1993, p. 583.
  15. @wsfa12news (7 March 2019). "Darden: This is the worst tornado to hit #LeeCounty since March 20, 1875 when an EF-4 hit. It's worst March tornad…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

Sources
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